Apple’s brief reference to “product pricing” in its latest 10‑Q filing has been read by Wall Street as a clear signal that higher iPhone prices are coming — and Morgan Stanley is now forecasting what that could look like: at least a $100 increase across the entire iPhone 18 line. The bank’s projection, combined with evidence that Samsung quietly lifted prices on a swath of Galaxy phones and tablets in the United States last month, points to a broader reset in smartphone pricing driven by soaring component costs.
The price pressure stems largely from a dramatic rise in NAND and DRAM costs, Apple wrote in the regulatory filing, elevating product pricing to a deliberate strategic lever rather than a reactive afterthought. Industry analysts say the move is intended to protect Apple’s net profits as the company navigates an executive transition to incoming CEO John Ternus. If Morgan Stanley’s prediction holds, customers would see the same storage options carried forward but at noticeably higher price tags than last year’s models.
Samsung, for its part, has already begun to act on the same underlying economics. The company implemented stealth increases on several Galaxy phones and tablets in the U.S. last month, raising prices by between $40 and $180 depending on model and configuration. Observers note Samsung has so far tried to maintain the price of base models — where volume sales matter most — while pushing up costs on higher‑tier variants, foldables and flagship tablets where buyers tend to accept steeper premiums.
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That selective approach reflects a squeeze on margins across the industry. Some estimates suggest Samsung’s mobile division could face an annual loss this year if memory prices remain elevated, forcing the company to choose between absorbing costs or passing them to consumers. Analysts say the current tactic is to protect core volume drivers while extracting extra margin where price sensitivity is lower, a strategy that may buy time but not eliminate the underlying constraint.
The supply picture helps explain why. Memory suppliers have benefited from surging demand for AI‑focused data‑centre capacity, tightening the market for chips that also go into phones and tablets. South Korean memory makers, for example, have reported sharp profit gains and signaled large capex plans to meet demand, but the immediate effect has been higher prices for NAND and DRAM — costs that device makers cannot indefinitely absorb without trimming margins or raising retail prices.
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The combination of Apple’s public signal and Samsung’s quiet price moves suggests a new pricing floor for premium devices, analysts warn. That could set a baseline for upcoming launches — including refreshes of Samsung’s foldable lineup and next year’s Galaxy S series — and make today’s prices the lowest consumers are likely to see for some time. For buyers, the near‑term outlook is straightforward: higher component bills are reshaping product economics, and manufacturers are increasingly prepared to pass some of that burden on to customers rather than shrink profits.
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